Published: Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 12:32 p.m.

For nearly three decades, Rose's Cafe has been a fixture on the southern end of Lafourche Parish.

Generations of native Cajuns, sports fishermen, offshore workers and everyone in between have found their way into the restaurant.

“We know our customers,” said Connie Watson, who has worked at Rose's Cafe for eight years and managed since December. “We know what they like to eat. We've watched their children grow up here.”

Another of the restaurant's cooks, Mandy Griffin, agrees.

“A lot of our customers, particularly older couples, eat here three times a day,” said Griffin who cooks breakfast and has been the spot's gumbo maker for the past two years. “If they're going to be late, they're going to call to make sure we save them some.”

Seafood is always in high demand with such dishes as oyster and shrimp platters, soft shell crabs, shrimp and oyster poboys, okra and shrimp gumbo or seafood gumbo. A tradition Rose's still carries out is if fishermen bring in their catch to be fried, the cooks are willing to do that.

“They're good to us, so we're good to them,” said Wendy Ledet, lunch cook at Rose's for two years. “Fridays at lunch we always have seafood, whether it's Lent or not.”

Still, according to Watson, the best-selling items during lunch and dinner hours are the fried chicken and the pork chops. She brags that Rose's has the best fried chicken on the bayou.

“Saturday seems to be our big chicken day,” she said. “It's when people have time to wait for it. Because it is fresh fried, it takes about 25 minutes, but it's well worth the wait.”

For the early risers, popular breakfast items include the Western omelet, grits, bacon and biscuits. Even so, some patrons ask the staff to create unique meals just for them.

“We had one guy who came in and made up his own breakfast poboy,” Griffin said. “He wanted a ham and cheese omelet, chicken fried steak and something else.”

“The poboy came up to where we charged him $15 for it,” Watson added. “And he was here the next day with his buddies so his buddies could have it.”

Whether it is everyday comfort food or an experimental dish, the key to satisfying Rose's loyal base is consistency in preparing and cooking each dish. Watson welcomes customer feedback because that is the only way to fix things.

“If it's not good, down here they'll let you know,” she said. “They're not afraid to say, ‘Hey, this don't taste like it did last week!' They feel like they have the right to complain because they are here two or three times a day.”

Watson, Griffin and Ledet, all Galliano natives, each have been in the food-service industry since they were teenagers. Ledet, 39, waited tables at Pizza Palace before getting her first cooking job at Taylor's Restaurant and finding her calling.

“Once I got into the kitchen, I loved it,” she said. “I'd rather be in the kitchen than in front taking orders.”

Griffin, 48, was also a waitress and worked at a Wal-Mart deli before coming to Rose's Cafe. She spent five years at the restaurant before taking a brief hiatus. She returned two years ago as the breakfast and gumbo cook.

Watson, 48, started out frying French fries at a Burger Chef on La. 1. She lived in Lake Charles for 26 years, eventually owning and managing a restaurant there. After Hurricane Rita struck in 2005, she moved back to Galliano and began working at Rose's, where her sister, Donna, has been an employee for 21 years.

“I like to cook, but my passion is right here, making sure we do things correctly,” Watson said. “Living in Lake Charles, I didn't have family there, so every customer who came into the restaurant became my family. I like how you can make people feel good for a little bit of time.”

The latest Rose's Cafe is actually the third built by owner and namesake, Rose Duet. The previous two were in Golden Meadow. Five years ago she constructed a new restaurant at its current location in Galliano, 18629 La. 3235.

“She could have retired by then,” Watson said. “To take on an endeavor like this is a big feat. Rose is really an icon down here. My thing is to be her in 25 years.”

Rose's Cafe feeds the public from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a staff of 17 employees and still maintains a devoted customer base.

“We have four cooks, and we stay open 19 hours, so we have to be a family, or it doesn't work,” Watson said. “We have a really good crew, and everyone is willing to pitch in to cover for one another.”

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